Modern computing devices such as smartphones, tablet computers, smart watches and the like are increasingly being provided with haptic output systems in addition to conventional video and audio output systems such as screens and speakers. Such haptic output systems provide outputs that can be felt by a user of the device, and these haptic outputs may be used, for example, to simulate the feeling of a mechanical button being depressed or clicked.
Additionally, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) devices may employ haptic output systems as well as video and audio output systems, to produce a multi-sensory user experience that may be more immersive and realistic, and therefore richer, than in systems which provide only audio and visual outputs.
Applications such as games that run on devices that include haptic output systems have to be designed and programmed specifically to take advantage of the haptic capabilities of the device. This means that additional programming time and resource must be devoted to developing mechanisms for providing appropriate haptic outputs during use of the application by a user.